Seed planters may be used to automatically plant seeds into rows of a field. Whether towed or part of the tractor or other machine, seed planters dispense seeds at a controlled rate into one or more seed furrows or rows as the planter moves along a field. Seed planters typically have several planting or row units in a spaced-apart arrangement such that several rows can be simultaneously planted.
The planting or row units may include one or more seed hoppers that hold seeds. A seed hopper holds a seed supply that feeds a seed meter. In turn, a seed meter may control a rate at which seeds are dispensed as the seed planter traverses a field. Each planting or row unit may also include other equipment, such as a furrow opener and/or a furrow closer, or other equipment.
Attention is turned to the seed meter in particular. Seed meters may use a variety of different mechanical principles to control how seeds are dispensed, but generally all seed meters are designed to dispense seeds at a controlled rate, often one seed at a time. However, seed meters will have occasional errors, for example, “doubles” in which multiple seeds are dispensed when only one seed is intended to be dispensed, or “skips” in which no seed is dispensed when a seed is intended to be dispensed.
One particular type of seed meter is known as a vacuum seed meter. A vacuum seed meter may use a vacuum to control how seeds are taken from a hopper seed pool and are dispensed from the meter. In one specific example, a vacuum seed meter may use a vacuum to gently pull and hold individual seeds to a seed disk. The disk then rotates, and at a designated place during rotation, the seed is released from the seed disk and dispensed for planting. A vacuum seed meter may include a double eliminator configured to remove doubles at individual seed apertures of the seed disk. Vacuum seed meters may plant a wide variety of crops and seed types by, for example, changing seed disks.
Multiple variety planting is a planting operation in which multiple varieties of seed are to be dispensed in a field. Typically the varieties of seed are of the same plant species, but the varieties have different characteristics. For example, one variety of corn may be more disease resistant but have a lower yield than a second variety of corn. If a particular part of a field has had a history of disease, then the disease resistant variety may be planted in that particular part of the field, but the higher yield variety may be planted in other parts of the field. A drought resistant variety of corn may be desired for planting in a third part of the field where water is expected to be scarce. One possible goal of multiple variety planting is to maximize the total overall yield of a field.
Thus, multiple variety planting utilizes a map-based prescription that indicates what varieties of seed are to be planted in corresponding different portions of a field. The physical characteristics of the different seed varieties, may suggest that the seed meter be adjusted differently for the different varieties. However, since adjustment of the meters will be difficult or impossible to accomplish while planting, the meter may be adjusted to an acceptable, but not optimal, setting and left there for all seed varieties. Thus, devices and methods are desired that allow a seed meter, including vacuum seed meters in particular, to automatically implement changes to the seed meter in order to optimize planting of different varieties of seed at different times during a multiple variety planting operation.